Chapter 487 - 425: Shocking News

Chapter 487: Chapter 425: Shocking News

"Elder, Chun... Chunying’s Soul Lamp has gone out!"

A deacon rushed into the main hall to report, nearly tripping from his haste.

"What?"

"Chunying is dead?"

"Impossible!"

The elders were all shocked. Chunying wasn’t an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator; her family was prominent, with several Purple Mansion cultivators, and she was deeply favored by the clan leader.

Her death during a mission at sea would be difficult to explain, no matter the circumstances.

A pained expression crossed Mabben’s face as he demanded, "Chunying was a master of Water Escape and Mirror Body Forms. She could have escaped from any enemy, no matter how strong. How could she possibly be dead?"

The deacon stammered, "I... I saw it clearly. Chunying’s Soul Lamp has indeed gone out."

Mabben roared, "Impossible! It must be your incompetence! You must have extinguished the Soul Lamp!"

The deacon’s face turned pale, and he stood rooted to the spot.

"You may go for now."

Ooshima San, the head of the elders, waved his hand to dismiss the deacon. He then turned to Mabben. "The Soul Lamps are protected by an Array. Without our express command, no one can enter that area."

"What’s done is done. There’s no need to make things difficult for him."

Mabben took a deep breath. "I don’t believe anyone from the Chenghua Sect could have killed Chunying. This must be internal strife—one of our own killed her to steal the merit points!"

As he spoke, he shot a glance at Banzheng.

Banzheng’s brow furrowed. "What are you implying? Of the three Transformation Stage cultivators, only Matsuo is alive. Are you suggesting Matsuo killed Chunying?"

Mabben sneered. "Who knows? It’s not as if the Feiyuan family is above such things."

Banzheng flew into a rage. "That’s absurd! You’re the one who acts with no decency for your age, getting inappropriately entangled with a junior..."

Hearing their exchange become increasingly outrageous, Ooshima San’s voice boomed, "Enough! Stop this foolishness!"

He shot a hard glare at Mabben. "Sending Matsuo was my idea. He’s getting on in years and was worried that using Magic at the Transformation Stage would shorten his lifespan. He didn’t want to go at first."

"I was concerned Ji Zhang and Chunying weren’t reliable enough, so I persuaded him to go."

"So, Matsuo would never murder a fellow sect member just for merit points."

Mabben gradually calmed down. Realizing he was in the wrong, he mumbled, "Brother Banzheng, I misspoke."

Banzheng, still simmering with anger, turned his head away and pretended not to hear.

Guan Zhi stepped in to mediate. "I trust Matsuo as well. Something like this can’t be covered up, anyway. The priority now is to understand the full story."

Mabben said with a grim face, "We can’t enter the Dark Sand area while the mission is active. There’s nothing we can do."

Guan Zhi said, "Then we’ll wait for the mission to end and launch an investigation immediately."

Just then, Yuudou spoke up. "Chunying and Ji Zhang are both dead. This means they met a truly formidable foe. It appears we have all underestimated Zhao Lin’s strength."

"If he isn’t responsible, I truly can’t imagine who else could have done it."

Banzheng waved his hand dismissively, full of confidence. "Matsuo is deeply experienced and powerful. He has never failed a mission in all his years. Rest assured, gentlemen. With him holding the line, the situation is not yet beyond recovery."

Ooshima San sighed. "Let’s hope so."

...

After slaying Chunying, Zhao Lin quickly browsed her Essence Soul. Finding no Magic suitable for his own cultivation, he promptly left the Fudong Rift Valley and hurried to Di Tutan.

"Brother Zhao, the mission to capture Pearl Beach probably can’t continue. The Earth Dark Sect sent three Transformation Stage cultivators. We just encountered one of them and were no match at all. Xu Zhongyong... died in battle!"

These were Du Zhen’s first words upon seeing him.

"There were two men and a woman standing at the bow of the ship. We ran into the female cultivator," Chang Jianqiu added, his expression grave.

"That’s right. That female cultivator’s Soul-Reaping Demonic Sound is terrifyingly powerful." 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

"And her Mirror Body Forms and Water Escape technique!"

Wang Jingchen and Shi Shouxin added as they walked over.

Zhao Lin listened patiently until they finished, then nodded. "I know."

"You know?"

Du Zhen froze, looking Zhao Lin up and down. "You encountered her just now?"

Zhao Lin said calmly, "That’s right. I killed her."

"What?"

Du Zhen and the others were stunned into silence.

Considering Zhao Lin had already slain two Earth Dark Sect cultivators, no one doubted his claim. However, a Transformation Stage cultivator was in a completely different league from a Qi Refining Cultivator. This was a battle that crossed a major cultivation boundary.

They had just been utterly routed by the female Transformation Stage cultivator, completely unable to fight back. The thought that Zhao Lin had killed her was simply inconceivable.

"Brother Zhao, you really killed that female cultivator?" Wang Jingchen asked again.

"An ambush, you could say..."

Zhao Lin gave them a rough account of how he killed Chunying, omitting any mention of his Thunder Shadow Clone.

’This is a life-saving technique I wouldn’t reveal lightly. Besides, the Thunder Shadow Clone is an exclusive Secret Technique of the Earth Dark Sect. Bringing it up would be difficult to explain and could invite suspicion.’

When Zhao Lin finished his story, he took out the silver whip he had confiscated and showed it to the group.

"The Silver-Jiao Whip. That female cultivator definitely had one on her wrist," Chang Jianqiu said, recalling the scene.

Now, everyone believed him. They couldn’t help but look at Zhao Lin with a new level of respect.

"But... there are still two Transformation Stage cultivators left. They’ll probably be even more difficult to handle," Du Zhen said after a moment.

’Although Zhao Lin had killed the female Transformation Stage cultivator, he had relied on an ambush. In a direct confrontation with the other two, the outcome would be far from certain.’

"One."

Zhao Lin held up one index finger and corrected him, "The Earth Dark Sect has one Transformation Stage cultivator left."

"What do you mean by that, Brother Zhao?" Du Zhen asked, puzzled.

"Before coming here, I killed a Transformation Stage cultivator named Ji Zhang at Room Fire Beach. The short one."

Zhao Lin then recounted how he had gone to the surface for air, encountered a tall, thin man and a stout cultivator, and ended up fighting Ji Zhang.

Du Zhen and the others were stunned by Zhao Lin’s achievements, rendered speechless by his tale.

"So... can we continue the mission to take Pearl Beach?" Shi Shouxin asked after a moment.

"Of course we can!"

Before Zhao Lin could answer, Wang Jingchen jumped in. "Brother Zhao killed two Transformation Stage cultivators, three at the Qi Refining Ninth Layer, and one at the Peak of Qi Refining."

"Plus the one we injured, the Earth Dark Sect has at most eleven people left who can fight. With Brother Zhao’s strength, taking care of that Matsuo character should be a piece of cake."

At this, his face lit up with excitement. "We have seventeen people on our side! Even without the four Array Masters, that’s thirteen against their eleven. The advantage is ours!"

Hearing those four words, "The advantage is ours!", Zhao Lin’s lip twitched. "The last Transformation Stage cultivator, Matsuo, is probably their strongest," he said quickly. "We absolutely cannot get complacent!"

"Honestly, a lot of luck was involved in me killing those two Transformation Stage cultivators. If I had to fight them again, I don’t know if I could win."

Hearing this, everyone snapped out of their excitement. Having witnessed the power of a Transformation Stage cultivator, they knew full well how strong the enemy was.

"Then what should we do next?"

Du Zhen asked. He was now completely convinced of Zhao Lin’s superiority and had no intention of competing with him for leadership.

Zhao Lin thought for a moment, then said, "Rest for a night. Tomorrow, we start setting up traps!"